Fabric edge-rolling and label-attaching machine

ABSTRACT

A pneumatic labeling and edge-folding machine including labelsewing structure concurrently sewable-on of labels while another combination of elements advances the fabric and doublesunder the fabric edge of the fabric, in a unitary operation.

United States Patent Galya et a]. [4 Jan. 21, 1975 1 FABRIC EDGE-ROLLING AND 3,766,870 10/1973 Weigert 112/104 LABELATTACHING MACHINE 3,792,672 2/1974 Friedman et al ll2/l04 3,812,800 5/1974 Ziegler et al 112/104 [76] Inventors: William Galya, 29 Carpenter Ave.,

Brewster, NY. 07648; Jack E. Shuifield, Route 2 Merriden Dr., Norwood NJ. 10509 Primary Examiner Geo. V. Larkm [22] Filed: May 31, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 475,038

[57] ABSTRACT 52 11.5. C1. 112/104 51] Int. c1 DOSb 3/12 A Pnwmfltlc labelmg and edge-foldmg machme 158 Field 01 Search 112/104, 113, 141-143, eluding labelsewing Structure concurrently SeWable-On 12 7 4 53 of labels while another combination of elements advances the fabric and doubles-under the fabric edge of 5 R f n Cited the fabric, in a unitary operation.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,482,537 12/1969 Morin 112/104 9 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures 2 W'Hl- 34c 2o 1 1 l "\A 35 H l 1 41 l 21 11 12 n 1 l 23 1 I L5 ll 8 1 I 2 I6 h llh I 1 \Ulh r .4 2 x J 22 33 i I ll J 1 I ,2. .1 1 1 I i 61 1, "ll l 13 1 11- l 1 Fl. 1

PATENIEDJANZWTS 3861.338

SHEEF 30F 4 -i; i w 00 FABRIC EDGE-ROLLING AND LABEL-ATTACHING MACHINE This invention is directed to an industrial sewing machine of the type for doubling-under the edge of the fabric and the stitching thereof along the edge together preferably with the depositing of a label concurrently thereon.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Prior to the present invention there have existed sewing machines having fabric-edge doubling-under devices of the past to which the present invention is directed when there have existed difficulties in producing first-quality line merchandise as a result of unreliable and intermittently faulty advancing of the fabric and therefore faulty or less-than-neat sewing or stitching of the doubled-under fabric edge, as well as there having to be a separate and distinct operation for the placing of a label thereon by one or another mechanism which added further to the time and therefore expense of the overall operation, as well as by the fact that by virtue of the separate operation the label was not consistently mounted at a predetermined position nor in a predetermined arrangement as might be desired for consistent and predictable quality and appearance. The failure to advance the fabric always at a constant rate results from the slipping of the gripping means, if any, or alternately from an operator manually differing in the rate of advancement of the fabric from time to time. A slippage from an automatic-advancing belt results from the wearing of the belt and/or from the type of material being gripped by an advancing belt or wheel or roller or the like, and/or from the inherent variation and thickness of a fabric or material as compared to some other that might be advanced at different rates because of better gripping or the like.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, objects of the present invention include the overcoming of one or more difficulties of the problems and disadvantages of the types discussed above.

Another object is to obtain an automatic fabric advancing device minimizing or eliminating the possibility of fabric slippage from a given rate of advance.

Another object is to lengthen the period of use of the presser belt of an automatic-advancing device for advancing fabric along a platen-plate under the needle sewing position.

Another object is to provide adjustable mechanisms for altering and individualizing advancing presser belt pressure on a fabric to the advance on the platen plate face.

Another object is to provide a novel combination of a label-attaching or depositing mechanism with a fabric advancing and edge-seaming sewing machine of an industrial type.

Another object is to render entirely automatic the depositing of a label and the sewing thereof during control of a automatic fabric advancing and to obtain a consistent location and positioning and the depositing of a label control thereof onto a seamed fabric edge during the seaming thereof.

Another object is to provide a location-varying mechanism whereby the specific location of the tag or label may be varied within a predetermined range of the trailing edge of the fabric of which the edge is being seamed in a doubled-under state.

Another object is to provide a label-depositing mechanism having a high-level of problem-free performances and of consistent dependable operation in the depositing of one label at a time without misses or jamming or the like.

Other objects become apparent from the preceding and following disclosure.

One or more objects of the present invention are obtained by the invention as defined herein.

Broadly the invention may be described as an industrial sewing machine apparatus including a substantially flat-faced plate having a fabric cdgc doublingunder structure for turning an edge of the fabric doubly-under upon itself prior to the stitching thereof. this aspect of the present invention being conventional in the prior art, as well as a revolving belt for frictionally gripping the top of a fabric for the advancing thereof along the fabric-edge turning structure toward the sewing machine foot and needle position being also conventional, the inventive aspect being an improvement on the belt apparatus for avoiding the problems and difficulties type discussed above in obtaining the objects above noted as well as in a preferred embodiment there being a label-stacking reservior provided for feeding labels one at a time at predetermined timed insertions onto the top of the folded fabric edge immediately prior to the sewing thereof by the sewing machine, all automatically. More particularly the advancing pressure belt apparatus includes forwardly and rearwardly located spaced apart preferably toothed wheels having a belt in the nature of a track extending between and around the spaced apart toothed wheel with the apparatus supporting the spaced apart toothed wheel being supported on a downwardly spring-biased spring support such that a constant but yieldable pressure is exerted by the outer lower surface of the belt onto an upper surface of the fabric being advanced between the lower surface of the belt and the upper face of the flat plate. Also, in a preferred embodiment thereof, there are provided additional spring biasing one or more pivotedly mounted wheels for biasing a pivoted arm with its pressure wheel mounted thereon downwardly against an upper surface of the lower travelling belt in order to further press the belt or tracks lower face into firm engagement with upper plate of the fabric being advanced by the belt. Further, there are provided ad- 0 justing means for increasing the tension on the springs biasing downwardly on the spring-biased track support apparatus supporting the spaced apart wheels for mechanically altering the downward pressure of the belt as well as preferably also there being a downward adjustment means for increasing the biasing torque on the spring biased pivoted arm. Additionally, in order to compensate for the always inherent stretching of the belt particularly over prolonged years and under prolonged strain, there is provided additionally a means for increasing at least mechanically the distance between the spaced apart wheels for thereby tightening the wheels, thereby assuring complete responsiveness of the track or belt to the driving force of one or more spaced-apart wheels. At least one of the wheels is mechanically connected as a drive shaft with one or more universal joints as a part thereof to the main drive of the sewing machine by a suitable gearing down mechanism of a conventional nature.

In a preferred embodiment of the overall combination, there is provided an upright reservoir for vertical stacking of horizontal labels which labels preferably have a turned-under leading edge at least the reservoir having a bottom supporting a rearward portion of the bottom label and providing an opening beneath the forward turn-up under flap of the label, and having preferably connected to the space beneath the labels turned under flap a vacuum chamber structure for causing the turn-under flap to drop downwardly in front of a piston arm of a piston cylinder extending substantially and horizontally which when actuated serves to engage the downwardly hanging label flap in order to drag the bottom label forwardly along a predetermined track structure to a position for wedging of the label between a lower face of an upper turned sewing machine foot fork and an upper surface of a fabric being advanced beneath the sewing maching foot fork toward a needle position. The piston and cylinder therefore are preferably actuated by a timing mechanism which includes an aperture or through-passage and the flat plate over which the fabric is advanced with aligned opposing pneumatic tubes, one being the vacuum-type tube in nature and the other opposing pneumatic tube being a gaspressure type tube such that when a rear end of the fabric is withdrawn from between the tubes during its forward advancing of the fabric, the pressure from the gaspressure tube is registered within the vacuum tube by a suitable switch mechanism which thereby actuates gas pressure to the piston cylinder to cause a label to be at that moment deposited on top of the fabric at a point noted-above beneath the sewing machine forks for the sewing thereon to the fabric at a predetermined distance ahead of the trailing edge of the advancing fabric. There is also preferably provided adjusting means for advancing forwardly or rearwardly the specific location of the opposing pneumatic tubes in order to thereby alter the exact position to which the label will be deposited on the fabric above the turned-under edge, as might be desired for different fabrics or goods or the likenA part of the required or at least preferred structure for the suitable depositing of the label is the turned-up nature of the sewing machine foot fork providing suitably for the depositing and wedging of the label between the lower surface of the conduct foot fork and the upper surface of the fabric such that the advancing fabric drags the label under the sewing machine foot beneath the needle sewing position to result in the sewing of the label concurrently with the stitching of the turned-under fabric edge. Thus the sewing of the edge and the sewing-on of the label is a simultaneous action.

THE FIGURES FIG. 1 illustrates in perspective front-side elevation view a typical sewing machine for embodying the preferred invention as described above.

FIG. 2 illustrates a in-part cross-sectional and in-part cross-sectional view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 as taken along lines 2-2 thereof.

FIG. 3 illustrates a view similar to that of FIG. 2 in plan view in-part, and in-part in cross-sectional view as taken along lines 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 illustrates an elevated side view in partial cross-section and diagrammatically, an opposite side of the bottom of FIG. 1 as compared to that illustrated in FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 illustrates an enlarged in-part view of the embodiment of FIG. 4 for better illustrating of the labeldepositing mechanism.

FIG. 6 illustrates a cross-sectional in-part view as taken along lines 66 of the FIG. 4, illustrating the position of the fabric, the wheels and belt, and fabric edge doubling-under apparatus.

FIG. 7 illustrates a view as taken along lines 77 of FIG. 5, better illustrating the nature and positioning of the operative structure for the label depositing mechanism.

FIG. 8 illustrates a view as taken in an in-part view along lines 88 of FIG. 4 embodiment.

FIG. 9 illustrates in plan view the appearance of the sewed fabric after the turning or doubling-under of the edge thereof and of the concurrent stitching simultaneously of the label also onto the fabric, by virtue of the invention as illustrated in the prior Figures.

FIG. 10 illustrates further the relationship of the labels to the fabric and to the doubling-under fabric edge as sewed, FIG. 10 being a cross-sectional view as taken along lines l010 of FIG. 9.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION FIGS. 1 through 10 all disclose different vvarious views of the same preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 discloses the overall appearance of the entire industrial sewing machine edge-folding, and presser-belt and label-depositing and sewing apparatus. Of the entire unit, there are subdivided inventive portions thereof such as the overall presser belt mechanism 12 and the overall label-depositing mechanism 13. In particular, as seen in the various views, there is the track belt 14 for pressing downwardly on fabric being slid horizontally along the flat platen like plate 15, plate belt 14 being operably mounted on upwardly and downwardly adjustable support structure 16 biased downwardly onto the plate 15 or fabric thereon by the biasing springs 17 the adjusting pressure of which is adjusted by threaded support shaft 18 mounted in support structure 19 carrying additional support structure 20 and supported overall by the support structure 21. At the edge of the plate along which the edge of the fabric is to be folded, there is the folding structure fixedly mounted to the plate 15, the folding structure 22 being of a conventional machine for doubling-under the edge of the fabric as the fabric is advanced forwardly along the plate 15 toward and under the sewing position. The fabric is fed out of the folding structure at the end portion 23 thereof, between plate 60 and the upwardly turned portion 55 of the fork portion 26 or foot 27, and under conventional situations and with conventional sewing machine the needle mounted structure 28 is located directly above the fork structure 26. The label stacking receiver or reservoir 24 has the labels stacked one on top of the other with each horizontally extending as label 25, the label having the turn-under downwardly hanging forward flap 25a which is caused to be sucked or to drop downwardly by the vacuum chamber 37 by way of a free space behind the floor 25b of the structure 25, the downwardly dropped flap 25a being engageable by the flattened label-engager 38 at its terminal ends which pushes the label through the depositing tube 31 to a position under the upwardly turned fork-portion 26 of the foot 27 such that the label becomes wedged as illustrated for the wedged label 54 against the fabric 52 below the portion 55. The fork 26 is located as conventionally under the needle position or needle support 28. The piston cylinder 29 includes typically and conventionally a spring (not shown) for returning piston 28 to the retracted position, after the air pressure through a pneumatic tube 30 is actuated by a conventional pneumatic central control box 61. Additionally presser foot 39 is spring biased downwardly by spring 40 which biases downwardly to support pivoted arm 40. The structure 21 is vertically adjustable by virtue of the lock screw 41 in slots 42. The tube 32 is a pneumatic tube with pressurized air coming therefrom while the tube 33 is a vacuum-like tube detectable of change in air pressure. Wheels 34a and 34b engage the toothed surface of the track belt 37. The wheel 34a is driven by the universal joint elements 35 as driven by the draft shaft 36. Upon the open ends of the tubes 32 and 33 in opposed relationship with one another, there is a free space at the plate level through which free space the fabric is caused to travel slidably along the plate by virtue of the movement of the belt 14. Upon movement of the fabric from between the two opposing open ends of the tubes 32 and 33, there is a sensing mechainsm of a conventional type in the conventional pneumatic control box 61 which causes the pneumatic pressure to be turned on in the pneumatic tube 30 to thereby actuate the cylinder 29 to slide a label from its reservoir 25 to the wedge position as wedged label 54 through the guide tube 51. Preferably there is a turnedup flange portion located at an end of an adjustment track structure 44 between the guide plates for guiding the fabric in close or snugged relationship between upper and lower plates for improving the effect of the actuation mechanism of tubes 32 and 33. Forward-torearward location of the opposing tubes 32 and 33 is adjustable in order to regulate the exact time of deposit of the label on the surface of the fabric by virtue of an adjustment track structure 44 having adjustable block nut 45 within the slot 46 of the structure 44. In like manner, the adjustable screw 47 by the tightening thereof moves movable axis supports apart forwardly and rearwardly from one another of the tube wheels to thereby tighten the track belt 14 mounted on and extending between the two tube wheels 34a and 34b. In like manner the box screw 49 is lockable of the adjustable upwardly and downwardly movable structure 20 by virtue of slots 50 therein. The vacuum of the space 37 is brought about by the pneumatic vacuum tube 31 also connected operatively to the conventional type control pneumatic box 61. Particular reference may be made to FIG. 5 in which the wedged label 54 has its forward edge wedged between the members 55 and fabric 52. The draft shaft 36 is driven by a gearing-down ratio box 56 which in turn is driven by the drive pulley 57 on which conventional belts are mounted thereon (although not shown herein such that it does not constitute an intimate part of the present invention). FIGS. 9 and illustrate a typical fabric after it has been sewn and the label sewn thereon with the fabric 52' having a turned-under edge doubly-stitched by stitches 58a and 58b which also have mounted thereon by the stitching the stitched-tag 59, this relationship being shown better in the cross sectional view of FIG. 10.

It is within the skill and scope of the present invention to make such variations and modifications and alterations and substitutions of equivalents as would be apparent to a person of ordinary skill.

I claim:

1. An industrial sewing machine device comprising: a horizontally elongated plate element having a substantially flat upper face and a substantially lineally extending edge having fixedly adhered thereto a fabricedge folder structure shaped for folding over and under an edge of the fabric upon itself as the fabric is advanced in a direction in which the lineally extending edge extends, and the plate element having a needlesewing space extending therethrough along said lineally extending edge; a sewing machine structure and support structure; a revolving-track fabric-presser means including spaced-apart revolvable wheels spaced apart in a horizontal direction and further including a toothed track mounted on teeth of the revolvable wheels for revolving the track alternately around the spaced-apart revolvable wheels for revolving the track alternately around the spaced-apart revolvable wheels such that fabric pressed therebeneath is pulled-along by frictional engagement, and further including structure for mounting on the support structure including springs biasing downwardly revolvably the revolvingtrack fabric-Presser means toward said substantially flat upper face; a label-depositing means for depositing a label on fabric substantially concurrently with the seaming of the edge of the fabric by the fabric-edge folder structure; and driving means connected operatively to one of said wheels for driving said revolvingtrack fabric-Presser means forwardly on a lower surface thereof adjacent the plate element flat upper face.

2. An industrial sewing machine device of claim 1, in which said plate element includes additional throughfree-space along said lineally extending edge, and includes structure mounting spaced apart upper and lower pneumatic tubes axially aligned with one another above and below the through-free-space, one of the pneumatic tubes being connected to a pressure source and the other being connected to a vacuum source; and said label-depositing means including an actuation switch for depositing a label onto fabric adjacent the needle-sewing space whenever fabric is moved from between the opposing tubes to expose said throughfree-space from one to another of the upper and lower pneumatic tubes such that a label is deposited immediately preceding the passing of a trailing edge of fabric dragged from between the upper and lower pneumatic tubes to a location beneath a needle position over the needle-sewing space.

3. An industrial sewing machine device of claim 2, in which said structure mounting the upper and lower aligned tubes includes adjustable locking means for adjusting forwardly or rearwardly the aligned tubes such that the point of depositing a label may be altered in the degree of closeness to the edge of the advancing fabric.

4. An industrial sewing machine device of claim 3, in which said revolving-track fabric-presser means includes a toothed belt and a pivoted-downwardly springbiased mounted rotatable roller positioned for pressing downwardly on an inner face of the belt such that the belt is pressed toward said flat upper face.

5. An industrial sewing machine device of claim 4, in which the revolving-track fabricresser means includes wheel-adjustment spacer-means for adjusting the distance between the spaced-apart revolvable wheels, and in which the structure for mounting the included springs includes spring-tension adjustment means for adjusting the degree of downwardly-biasing pressure.

6. An industrial sewing machine device of claim 5, in which said label depositing means includes further a reservoir structure for channeling vertically stacked labels in a substantially horizontal label-position downwardly to a first predetermined location above said flat upper face, and a laterally movable piston arm movable alternately to and fro through and past said first predetermined position to a second predetermined position adjacent each of said needle-sewing space and said flat upper face and engageable with a label at said first predetermined position such that the label is deposited at said second predetermined position prior to retraction of the piston arm to said first predetermined position, said piston arm being operatively connected for actuation to and through said first position to said second predetermined position by said actuation switch.

7. An industrial sewing machine device of claim 6, including a pressure means connected for driving said piston arm to said second predetermined position whenever said actuation switch is initiated by said trailing edge passing from between said aligned upper and lower tubes, and including track-guide structure extending between said first predetermined position and said second predetermined position, and said sewing machine structure including a foot-defining forwardly and upwardly directed presser-foot forks defining a wedge space between a lower face of the presser-foot forks and said flat upper face of the elongated plate element, said track-guide structure being positioned such that said second predetermined position is adjacent said wedge space whereby when a label is advanced to said second predetermined position it is wedged between the presser-foot forks lower face and an upper surface of an advancing fabric resulting in the deposited label being advanced with the moving fabric over said needle-sewing space beneath a sewing needle for the sewing of the label onto the fabric.

8. An industrial sewing machine device of claim 7. with the label having a lower flap turned under at a leading end thereof, said reservoir structure including a bottom supportable of the labels body portion spaced rearwardly from the turned-under flap such that upon advancing of the piston arm a forward terminal end of the piston arm engages the label between the turned-under flap and the remaining body portion of the label to drag forwardly the label along the track guide-structure from the first predetermined position to the second predetermined position.

9. An industrial sewing machine device of claim 8, including a vacuum chamber-defining structure and a vacuum conduit operatively connected to a vacuum system, with the vacuum chamber-defining structure having an open top and being spaced below said first predetermined position forward of the reservoir structure bottom such that the turned-under flap is caused to hang downwardly in front of said forward terminal end of the piston arm. 

1. An industrial sewing machine device comprising: a horizontally elongated plate element having a substantially flat upper face and a substantially lineally extending edge having fixedly adhered thereto a fabric-edge folder structure shaped for folding over and under an edge of the fabric upon itself as the fabric is advanced in a direction in which the lineally extending edge extends, and the plate element having a needle-sewing space extending therethrough along said lineally extending edge; a sewing machine structure and support structure; a revolving-track fabric-presser means including spaced-apart revolvable wheels spaced apart in a horizontal direction and further including a toothed track mounted on teeth of the revolvable wheels for revolving the track alternately around the spaced-apart revolvable wheels for revolving the track alternately around the spaced-apart revolvable wheels such that fabric pressed therebeneath is pulled-along by frictional engagement, and further including structure for mounting on the support structure including springs biasing downwardly revolvably the revolvingtrack fabric-presser means toward said substantially flat upper face; a label-depositing means for depositing a label on fabric substantially concurrently with the seaming of the edge of the fabric by the fabric-edge folder structure; and driving means connected operatively to one of said wheels for driving said revolving-track fabric-presser means forwardly on a lower surface thereof adjacent the plate element flat upper face.
 2. An industrial sewing machine device of claim 1, in which said plate element includes additional through-free-space along said lineally extending edge, and includes structure mounting spaced apart upper and lower pneumatic tubes axially aligned with one another above and below the through-free-space, one of the pneumatic tubes being connected to a pressure source and the other being connected to a vacuum source; and said label-depositing means including an actuation switch for depositing a label onto fabric adjacent the needle-sewing space whenever fabric is moved from between the opposing tubes to expose said through-free-space from one to another of the upper and lower pneumatic tubes such that a label is dEposited immediately preceding the passing of a trailing edge of fabric dragged from between the upper and lower pneumatic tubes to a location beneath a needle position over the needle-sewing space.
 3. An industrial sewing machine device of claim 2, in which said structure mounting the upper and lower aligned tubes includes adjustable locking means for adjusting forwardly or rearwardly the aligned tubes such that the point of depositing a label may be altered in the degree of closeness to the edge of the advancing fabric.
 4. An industrial sewing machine device of claim 3, in which said revolving-track fabric-presser means includes a toothed belt and a pivoted-downwardly spring-biased mounted rotatable roller positioned for pressing downwardly on an inner face of the belt such that the belt is pressed toward said flat upper face.
 5. An industrial sewing machine device of claim 4, in which the revolving-track fabric-presser means includes wheel-adjustment spacer-means for adjusting the distance between the spaced-apart revolvable wheels, and in which the structure for mounting the included springs includes spring-tension adjustment means for adjusting the degree of downwardly-biasing pressure.
 6. An industrial sewing machine device of claim 5, in which said label depositing means includes further a reservoir structure for channeling vertically stacked labels in a substantially horizontal label-position downwardly to a first predetermined location above said flat upper face, and a laterally movable piston arm movable alternately to and fro through and past said first predetermined position to a second predetermined position adjacent each of said needle-sewing space and said flat upper face and engageable with a label at said first predetermined position such that the label is deposited at said second predetermined position prior to retraction of the piston arm to said first predetermined position, said piston arm being operatively connected for actuation to and through said first position to said second predetermined position by said actuation switch.
 7. An industrial sewing machine device of claim 6, including a pressure means connected for driving said piston arm to said second predetermined position whenever said actuation switch is initiated by said trailing edge passing from between said aligned upper and lower tubes, and including track-guide structure extending between said first predetermined position and said second predetermined position, and said sewing machine structure including a foot-defining forwardly and upwardly directed presser-foot forks defining a wedge space between a lower face of the presser-foot forks and said flat upper face of the elongated plate element, said track-guide structure being positioned such that said second predetermined position is adjacent said wedge space whereby when a label is advanced to said second predetermined position it is wedged between the presser-foot forks'' lower face and an upper surface of an advancing fabric resulting in the deposited label being advanced with the moving fabric over said needle-sewing space beneath a sewing needle for the sewing of the label onto the fabric.
 8. An industrial sewing machine device of claim 7, with the label having a lower flap turned under at a leading end thereof, said reservoir structure including a bottom supportable of the label''s body portion spaced rearwardly from the turned-under flap such that upon advancing of the piston arm a forward terminal end of the piston arm engages the label between the turned-under flap and the remaining body portion of the label to drag forwardly the label along the track guide-structure from the first predetermined position to the second predetermined position.
 9. An industrial sewing machine device of claim 8, including a vacuum chamber-defining structure and a vacuum conduit operatively connected to a vacuum system, with the vacuum chamber-defining structure having an open top and being spaced below said first predetermined positiOn forward of the reservoir structure bottom such that the turned-under flap is caused to hang downwardly in front of said forward terminal end of the piston arm. 